Straight after the Canary trip we flew back to Austria through D�sseldorf. We had just 1 and a half day to organise things for a 3 week Turkey-Greece trip, pick up the post, pick up a repaired sail, getting the right gear sorted out. What a stress! Thanks to the help of our friends J�rgen [...]

It�s my 5th time up here in Sylt. 2005, 2007 till 2010. This time we see a very calm Sylt. So far the wind never picked up above 20 knots and no big onshore waves crashed on the shore of Westerland. 6 days of the event are over and 4 days more are to go. [...]

Five days in Southern California, delayed flights coming home, early morning for catching up at the office….needless to say I’m a little drained today. But, that won’t stop me from giving a recap of the Chicks Rock boogie! Though I ask you to give me a little compassion on my writing skills as they aren’t [...]

‘Ain’t that just how it always goes–you announce a deadline, you make plans to pack up and move on down the road, and then wha-bam, the situation changes. Not that we’re complaining…………we just got word that the season on the Middle Fork of the American River has been extended by a week!� Our last trips [...]

Whitewater kayaker Dan Patrinellis shot a nice helmet-cam video�of himself and Scott (aka Fish) running Ernie’s Canyon on the North Fork of the Snoqualmie River the other day, I like it because after a lot of the drops Dan turns around to film Fish so you some good shots of the run�looking upstream as well. [...]

We’re down to our second Middle Fork deadline of the season–first we were told we’d be done on Oct 3rd, then we got a little extension to the 1oth.� As far as we know, this is the real deadline, so this weekend is your last chance for class IV white water rafting in 2010! Bookmark [...]

Five days in Southern California, delayed flights coming home, early morning for catching up at the office….needless to say I’m a little drained today. But, that won’t stop me from giving a recap of the Chicks Rock boogie! Though I ask you to give me a little compassion on my writing skills as they aren’t [...]

Whoa, it’s been a while. I’m sorry for that! Life has been busy, to say the least. Things have picked up at work, and it’s unfortunate, but by the time I get home and do those things that need to get done, I can’t seem to find the time to write before I pass out [...]

Russia is planning to spend $15 billion developing five new ski resorts in the country?s south eastern Caucasus mountain range, which divide Europe from Asia and include the highest peaks on the European continent. The Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced the new resorts would be built under a public-private partnership. He hopes that building the [...]

Finding the best snorkeling on Maui isn’t hard; it’s paring down the choices to a single vacation that becomes challenging. Maui is one of the premiere snorkeling locations in the world, with a wealth of underwater adventure and sights to see. Whether you are looking for snorkeling opportunities right off the beach or further out [...]

The first time I ever laid eyes on a whitewater dory was during a road trip across northern Arizona, when I dropped by the offices of a river outfitter in Flagstaff that runs boating expeditions through the Grand Canyon. It was early March of 2003 and a blizzard had roared out of the north the [...]

If you are in search of the best snorkeling in Maui, you will not be disappointed in your visit to this island of paradise. Maui is surrounded by hot spots for snorkelers and divers, depending on where you want to go and what you want to see. Snorkeling can be just about anywhere on the [...]

As I sit here at my desk preparing for a few days out of the office, thoughts of what I'm thankful for begin to flow into my head. "What does it mean to give thanks?" I ask myself. Is it a selfless, tangible deed that must be performed in order to merit appreciation? Is it [...]

The Photo Annual just might be our most anticipated issue all year. Packed full of big beautiful stills with minimal text. What could be better? Here is a tiny preview of what's inside issue 82. You're going to have to get to a skateshop and buy your own copy to see the rest for yourself.

When you are planning your tropical getaway to Maui, snorkeling or scuba diving might be on your to-do list for your vacation. But what about snuba diving? Although this underwater activity is not as well known as standard scuba or snorkeling, Maui snuba diving is quickly picking up steam as one of the most popular [...]

If you are in search of the best snorkeling in Maui, you will not be disappointed in your visit to this island of paradise. Maui is surrounded by hot spots for snorkelers and divers, depending on where you want to go and what you want to see. Snorkeling can be just about anywhere on the [...]

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Check this movie out on Addicted to Ride – Torah Bright practising her double corks prior to hel Olympic halfpipe runs. It looks like a really nice pipe & it gives an insight into how much she’s worked on her riding. Go right here

Unlike many of the free internet releases going on these days, this movie first appeared in DVD form in the ancient year of 2009. Hit play to watch "Shine On" last year's release from Kevin Sansalone, Clayton Larsen and the Sandbox Crew, in it's entirety. As they describe it: "An HD snowboard film about questionable people doing questionable things."

When we think of Safe Diving Practices what comes to mind? Diving with a buddy at all times? Not going beyond your training and experience? Not diving in conditions that could be hazardous? Certainly these are some very good ones, but as we will see in this article safe diving practices start before we even [...]

Early in July I got some footage of Rob McKibbin, Sam Grafton and Darren Albright running the Wall on Tumwater Canyon at 4900 cfs.� Darren is first, then Sam (notice the feisty hole ride he takes nearly halfway through) and then Rob, of course in his playboat. The funny part about this day is that [...]

Last year on Cyber Monday consumers spent nearly $890 million dollars online. Imagine the difference we could make if just a fraction of that money was spent on responsible, meaningful holiday gifts. That’s the goal of Green Gift Monday from … Continue reading →

Masks: Windows Into Another (damp) World! Divers dive for different reasons, but ultimately everybody from the lay snorkeler through to the hardcore tec diver is in the water for one thing: to experience the aquatic environment. Some people want to explore the wrecks of great vessels from our past, whereas others enjoy looking at shallow [...]

Friday, November 26, 2010

Utah is the home of several famous places once homesteaded by many robbers, rustlers, outlaws and bandits. Some names more common than others, all modern day ‘Robin Hoods’ competing with the rich to help give back to the poor. Starting out with the most famous of them all was Robert LeRoy Packer, or better known [...]

After some process drama, the two new Suffolk skatepark designs are here from Spohn Ranch. Suffolk was working with a small budget and wanted two parks. Originally one was going to be a bowl, but budget and site constraints kept that from happening. Personally I am stoked on these parks. No fences, no monitors or passes. No giant vert walls. Just fun stuff to skate. I'd like to see other cities building more smaller parks instead of one giant park. What do you guys think?

Shane Benedict from Whitewater Instruction has some nice whitewater kayaking how-to videos on Vimeo, here are two that I found on boofing. This one talks about boofing in general: Here’s one that talks about how to boof into an eddy: There’s more on their Vimeo page, here’s a link to all of the Whitewater Instruction [...]

What Did The Divers Ever Do For Us? There are millions of divers in the world, and most of them are sport divers, meaning they dive for fun. This is unsurprising because diving is one of the most thrilling and adventurous sports you can pursue. There are, however, a very large amount of divers who [...]

Thursday, November 25, 2010

When we think of Safe Diving Practices what comes to mind? Diving with a buddy at all times? Not going beyond your training and experience? Not diving in conditions that could be hazardous? Certainly these are some very good ones, but as we will see in this article safe diving practices start before we even [...]

Freedom to Roam, a Denver-based coalition of businesses, government organizations and conservation groups, is helping ensure wildlife can adapt to, and ultimately survive, habitat fragmentation and climate changes. Every year, around the world, up and down North America, and from coast to coast across the United States, millions of animals are on the move. They’re [...]

Freedom to Roam, a Denver-based coalition of businesses, government organizations and conservation groups, is helping ensure wildlife can adapt to, and ultimately survive, habitat fragmentation and climate changes. Every year, around the world, up and down North America, and from coast to coast across the United States, millions of animals are on the move. They’re [...]

You’ll find Crypt Lake on page 113 of Don’t Waste Your Time in the Canadian Rockies, the Opinionated Hiking Guide. It’s Trip 22. You’ll also find it on the agenda of every visitor to Waterton Lakes National Park who has any interest in hiking. It’s by far the most popular trip in the park, and [...]

The American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) is the United States? sole representative to the twenty-six member International Federation of Mountain Guides (IFMGA) ? the international governing body responsible for the guiding standards and education around the world.� On November 12th, … Continue reading →

Mt Baker, WA (November 20, 2010) -- Opening day is more than just a chance to strap in and stretch the winter legs. It’s the time of year when all the mountain folks emerge from their summer-of-working-to-fund-another-winter and leave the 9-to-5ers behind to bitch about the cold weather. It’s kind of like a high school reunion that only features the people you liked, and the opportunity to slash a bit of pow and jib some low tide features are the party favors.

As we made our way to Mt Baker’s much-anticipated opener, snow fell at sea level, maybe keeping some of the I-5 traffic at bay. When they began loading lifts at 9am sharp, it was apparent that Baker was serving up generous party favors: cold, knee-deep powder over a shallow-but-consolidated base provided more face shots than core shots, and clearing skies meant the sidecountry was firing on day one. And the usual faces emerged one by one, smiling to welcome another season to the Pacific Northwest.

Here’s to the Mt Baker class of 2011—see you in the lift line early and often.

Mt Baker, WA (November 20, 2010) -- Opening day is more than just a chance to strap in and stretch the winter legs. It’s the time of year when all the mountain folks emerge from their summer-of-working-to-fund-another-winter and leave the 9-to-5ers behind to bitch about the cold weather. It’s kind of like a high school reunion that only features the people you liked, and the opportunity to slash a bit of pow and jib some low tide features are the party favors.

As we made our way to Mt Baker’s much-anticipated opener, snow fell at sea level, maybe keeping some of the I-5 traffic at bay. When they began loading lifts at 9am sharp, it was apparent that Baker was serving up generous party favors: cold, knee-deep powder over a shallow-but-consolidated base provided more face shots than core shots, and clearing skies meant the sidecountry was firing on day one. And the usual faces emerged one by one, smiling to welcome another season to the Pacific Northwest.

Here’s to the Mt Baker class of 2011—see you in the lift line early and often.

The Evolution of Buoyancy Compensation (No Win, No Fee!) I?ve written about buoyancy before, where I extolled the virtues of learning and mastering perfect neutral buoyancy. I am of the staunch opinion that well maintained buoyancy is the doorway to excellent diving. The issue with this is that our bodies (read: lungs) are incapable of [...]

It�s a special trip on the Canaries this year. We first arrived on Fuerteventura and had a good time for about a week at Sotavento. Afterwards we travelled to Lanzarote reporting from the second PWA Freestyle event. The action was great. Sarah-Quita took another title and Gollito could defeat Kiri in the final. We stayed [...]

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

??Most people think a great garden is all about the plants. However, a garden is more than just a collection of plants; in fact, plants are not the first thing you should think about when trying to create a garden. … Continue reading →

Whether you are interested in whale watching, scuba diving or a sunset cruise, Maui has a package just right for you. However, there is something truly special about the ability to customize your vacation plans to your specific party and needs. This is where a Maui private boat charter can enhance your tropical getaway. Private [...]

The girls head up to Orange County to board the Ocean Technology Systems boat and head out to Catalina Island for a day of full face mask diving and talking underwater! On the way out, Mike steered us right near a huge pod of dolphins…it was amazing watching the dolphins swim with the boat! John [...]

Five days in Southern California, delayed flights coming home, early morning for catching up at the office….needless to say I’m a little drained today. But, that won’t stop me from giving a recap of the Chicks Rock boogie! Though I ask you to give me a little compassion on my writing skills as they aren’t [...]

What Is Freediving? Freediving is the act of diving down under the surface of water with no air source, ie holding you breath. Freediving is at once the logical evolution of snorkelling, the predecessor of scuba and its own separate entity. It?s not correct to see freediving as just another term for snorkelling because, as [...]

Straight after the Canary trip we flew back to Austria through D�sseldorf. We had just 1 and a half day to organise things for a 3 week Turkey-Greece trip, pick up the post, pick up a repaired sail, getting the right gear sorted out. What a stress! Thanks to the help of our friends J�rgen [...]

Freedom to Roam, a Denver-based coalition of businesses, government organizations and conservation groups, is helping ensure wildlife can adapt to, and ultimately survive, habitat fragmentation and climate changes. Every year, around the world, up and down North America, and from coast to coast across the United States, millions of animals are on the move. They’re [...]

Drum roll please!� We just set the dates for our 2011 California white water rafting guide school so those of you who have a hankering for rafting 24/7 next summer, take note.� We’ll be welcoming students at our professional rafting guide school over the course of two sessions. Our spring session will be held April [...]

Last year on Cyber Monday consumers spent nearly $890 million dollars online. Imagine the difference we could make if just a fraction of that money was spent on responsible, meaningful holiday gifts. That’s the goal of Green Gift Monday from … Continue reading →

I’m writing this post in July in the middle of some sweltering heat and it feels plain wrong! But, having said that, when your life revolves around snowboards and snowboarding it’s good to see the newest of the new snowboarding gear regardless. We just saw this week that

Kathy and I were recently interviewed by Allan Buckingham, for his “Alpine Authors” program on Banff Park Radio. You can listen to the podcast on the Authors page of our website: http://www.hikingcamping.com/authors.php

You’ll find Crypt Lake on page 113 of Don’t Waste Your Time in the Canadian Rockies, the Opinionated Hiking Guide. It’s Trip 22. You’ll also find it on the agenda of every visitor to Waterton Lakes National Park who has any interest in hiking. It’s by far the most popular trip in the park, and [...]

Separate Or Combo: Choices…Choices… The dive watch market is a fickle beast; one moment it?s completely fanatical about massive digital displays and chunky boots, the next it?s idolizing the inconspicuous, sleek watches that would pass for a formal timepiece should you forget to take it off on your way from the dive site to the [...]

Five days in Southern California, delayed flights coming home, early morning for catching up at the office….needless to say I’m a little drained today. But, that won’t stop me from giving a recap of the Chicks Rock boogie! Though I ask you to give me a little compassion on my writing skills as they aren’t [...]

Following up on their discussion of the method, here are two videos from the TTR World Tour discussing how they approach style in the judging formula, and the explosion of tech tricks. With Jamie Lynn aand Bryan Iguchi as judges, we can assume they have a pretty good handle on style. Good to know they're paying attention to more than just number of rotations...think this will trickle down to the Olympics?

Exposure Protection I love being a dive instructor, I love diving even more, and I absolutely adore diving in tropical water! Diving in a sea with an average temperature of around thirty-one degrees Celsius is the perfect way to enjoy an undersea safari! In Thailand, where I?m based, the water temperature doesn?t even change with [...]

It�s so beautiful to sail in crystal waters at Sotavento with nice powerful wind in the sail. I really enjoyed my first session yesterday at the Center 1 of �Ren� Egli. The preparation for the 6 weeks trip, which will include short excursions to Lanzarote and Gran Canaria as well, were tough. I had to [...]

Margo and Stephanie decide to snorkel by the Marine Room in San Diego because this is the time of the year for the leopard sharks! Off they went to see the sharks, which are normally in the sand but today they were in the shallows next to the cave. And when they found them…they REALLY [...]

I think this is Copyright 2002 by Dave Petterson of Calgary Paddlers, but it’s on a million websites so I’m posting it here because who are we kidding, it’s funny.� Here goes: “Someone was asking me about my class IV comfort level the other day, and my answer was something like “I’m comfortable that I [...]

‘Ain’t that just how it always goes–you announce a deadline, you make plans to pack up and move on down the road, and then wha-bam, the situation changes. Not that we’re complaining…………we just got word that the season on the Middle Fork of the American River has been extended by a week!� Our last trips [...]

Well, it’s happened.� You’ve seen another California rafting season�wear down to brass tacks.� The Middle Fork has joined its bretheren at the river retirement home and now only the brave South Fork of the American soldiers on. We admit it–there’s nothing like a summer rafting trip with blazing temps and sunburned kids running all over [...]

It was a nice time overthere in South Korea. The event was so well organised and the conditions were fine. Now it�s time to focus on training and tuning the gear even better. I already had a worldclass 9,6 day� on the lake in Podersdorf and some training in the gym and on the bike. [...]

Unlike many of the free internet releases going on these days, this movie first appeared in DVD form in the ancient year of 2009. Hit play to watch "Shine On" last year's release from Kevin Sansalone, Clayton Larsen and the Sandbox Crew, in it's entirety. As they describe it: "An HD snowboard film about questionable people doing questionable things."

If you are in search of the best snorkeling in Maui, you will not be disappointed in your visit to this island of paradise. Maui is surrounded by hot spots for snorkelers and divers, depending on where you want to go and what you want to see. Snorkeling can be just about anywhere on the [...]

Dan Patrinellis was wearing a helmet camera when he got pinned on a low-water run of Icicle Creek about a week ago.� Here’s his video – it took a while for him to get the throw bag, and he said the hairy moment came when he pulled his spray skirt and the boat went deeper [...]